Chapter 61: A Stranger in a Strange Land

  "Looking for someone? Brother, if I'm not mistaken, you can't even speak a word of Korean, right? This place is neither big nor small. The population is in the tens of millions, how are you going to find them?" After finishing a flurry of business, the young man came back to my table and continued chatting with me. Perhaps after being abroad for so long, he couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart at suddenly seeing a compatriot.

  "No choice, I'm being forced to come out and look for a job. My family won't let me stay at home, so I'll just have to try. If it doesn't work out, we can talk about it later!" I said, scraping the last bit of noodles into my mouth and wiping my lips with a napkin. Since getting off the plane, I've been pretending to be deaf and mute, even when hailing a taxi. Now that someone is here to chat with me, it actually feels pretty good."

  "Do you have a photo? I often need to go out and deliver takeout. Maybe I can help you find it, no guarantee." Don't mention it, when you're out and about, fellow countrymen are just that. Seeing me struggling, they proactively offered to help.

  "I'll find it for you, oh right, can you help me settle the bill?" I opened the zipper of my luggage and started searching for the photo of the witch's apprentice.

  "Jajangmyeon, 1,200 won per bowl. Two bowls are 2,400 won, but since you're Chinese, I'll give you a discount, let's just say 2,000 won. If this store were mine, buddy, I wouldn't even charge you." Before long, the young man came over from the cashier with the receipt. He handed it to me and said with some embarrassment...

  "Pffft!" I was just drinking tea and rinsing my mouth when I suddenly heard the price announced, and I couldn't help but spit out all the water. A bowl of zhajiangmian for 1200? It's no wonder that capitalist countries are just scams. How scorching hot must life be for the vast laboring masses living here? My heart was seething with indignation.

  "Korean currency is worthless, 1,000 won is only worth about 5 or 6 RMB." The young man explained to me with a light smile while wiping the tea stains on the table with a cloth he was carrying.

  "Hey, can you help me calculate? If I'm going to stay here for 3 months, how much money will I need?" It wasn't until then that I realized the thick stack of Korean currency in my bag was only enough to eat a few hundred bowls of noodles.

  "If you rent a house, take this street as an example. A 15-square-meter room would cost around 3 million won per month!" Before the person could finish speaking, I almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. 3 million per month for three months isn't that 9 million? So the 5 million in my bag isn't even enough to pay the rent?"

  "Eating out isn't cheap either, unless you cook yourself. But cooking is also expensive, vegetables and meat are not cheap here. This place has little arable land, things that aren't a big deal domestically are very expensive here. Especially beef and fruit, even locals wouldn't easily buy them! The young man kindly stood in front of me, counting on his fingers to help me calculate."

  "So you're saying I shouldn't eat anymore?" I asked with some annoyance!

  "Isn't there kimchi anymore, sour and spicy, quite appetizing." Alright, so I ran all the way here just to eat three months' worth of kimchi.

  "Why don't you find a job first? Some places, the boss will provide accommodation. If you're lucky, they'll even give you a meal. This way, your expenses can be reduced." The young man saw my gloomy expression and was coming up with ideas for me. However, this idea wasn't bad, at least I felt enthusiastic about it in my current situation.

  "It can be worked on, then there's nothing to fear." The poor Taoist suddenly felt a great sense of relief.

  "But foreigners need a residence permit or work visa to find a job here, do you have one?" Before I could even get excited, he poured another bucket of cold water on me.

  "If not, I can only work as a black worker, but the salary will be half of the regular one." Before I started to lose confidence, he showed me a clear way.

  "How dare you not finish what you're saying at once?" I put down the teacup in my hand, looked up and glared at him with a bad attitude.

  "For people like me who run errands and do miscellaneous tasks, the regular salary is at least 1.2 million won per month. If you're working off the books, I reckon the boss would only give you 600,000 won or even less." The person continued to introduce me to South Korea's labor system without thinking it was a big deal.

  "And you?" I asked the young man who had already said a lot.

  "I'm an international student, I'm allowed to work part-time. So, I earn a salary of 1.2 million won." The person said with a proud expression.

  "Alright, I'll go take a look around first. If there's anything I don't understand, I'll come back and ask you!" As the sky was getting darker, my top priority was to find a place to stay. Work and all that could wait till another day. So I stood up and bid farewell to the person.

  "If there's anything you don't know, feel free to come here and ask me anytime. If I'm not around, you can leave a message at the front desk too. Most of the people working here are Chinese." The young man said to me as he saw me off at the door.

  As I walked into the night-shrouded streets of Seoul, I let out a soft sigh. Rubbing my legs which had gone numb from fatigue, I plopped myself down on a long bench by the street. Having tried several hotels, but as soon as they saw my Chinese passport, they immediately shook their heads and refused to accommodate me.

  It's not because of any other reason, but just because I'm a foreigner, I can only stay in hotels that cater to foreigners. If those hotels take me in and the police find out, they'll have their licenses revoked and be fined. But the cheapest room at one of these hotels costs 200,000 won per night. That means I'd have to spend half my money just to stay for one night. What about tomorrow? The day after tomorrow? Am I supposed to sleep on the streets? Being in a foreign country, I'm increasingly feeling the importance of money.

  "Damn it, can a living person still die from holding in pee? Never mind, let's just stay for one night and talk about it later." After standing on the side of the street watching the endless stream of cars for half an hour, I finally rubbed my nose and stood up, as if making a vow to myself.

  "Hello! Please show me your passport and visa!" As it was a hotel for foreigners, the front desk lady knew I came from China after which she immediately spoke fluent Mandarin to provide service. Of course, their service fees were not cheap either. After paying 200,000 KRW for accommodation and an additional 200,000 KRW as deposit, I only had less than 100,000 KRW left in my pocket. That's equivalent to less than 600 RMB.

  A slender girl with a charming back view politely led me to the door of the room, then carefully opened the door for me and stood at the door making a slight inviting gesture towards me. I carried the travel bag in my hand which only had a few pieces of change clothes inside, looked around and walked into the room.

  The room's decor is okay, with double-layered floor-to-ceiling curtains and a double bed. There's a phone on the bedside table and a small dresser. The bathroom isn't big, just a toilet, bathtub, showerhead, and a mirror. Hmm, there's also a small fridge in the room that's not much taller than the bed. But for me right now, it's just something to look at - I don't dare use anything inside. What if I indulge in a moment of pleasure and can't control myself? When I check out tomorrow morning, I might end up losing everything.

  As I turned around after checking out the room, I saw that girl still standing at the door, smiling at me. Has my charm reached this level? I wondered to myself.

  I saw her, and she bowed to me. She continued standing at the door with a smile on her face, showing no intention of leaving. "What's going on here?" I wondered. "Brother is not afraid!" I firmly told myself in my heart.

  Suddenly I remembered, it seemed that I had seen it in a magazine before, foreign waiters mostly have the habit of taking small tips. I thought people were attracted by my handsome appearance and wanted to take a few more glances at me standing at the door. It turned out that I was overthinking all along, they didn't even put me in their eyes, what attracted them was just the cash in my pocket.

  I pulled open the zipper of my luggage, and with a pretentious flourish, I picked out one of the few 10,000-yuan bills from the limited number of tickets I had and handed it to my sister. It wasn't that I was being extravagant, but rather because all I had left in my hand were these few 10,000-yuan bills and some loose change. When you're abroad, you can't lose face in front of the Chinese people, right? I painfully handed over the money, consoling myself with this thought.

  "Ah Li Ga Duo, pot smashing one mom dead!" The girl took the ticket and, in front of me, lifted up the hem of her skirt, stuffed the money into the top of her stockings, then bowed deeply to me and said this! Looks like this is a benefit for giving tips?

  "Ah! What's the meaning of this?" I was admiring her ruthlessness, but I really didn't understand why she had to use a pot to smash her mom to death. You've already killed your own mom, what's it got to do with me? So I shrugged my shoulders and asked her! At the same time, I decided that if the Korean police came to investigate the homicide later, I'd just pretend to be clueless. As a stranger in a strange land, I'd better not look for trouble.

  "Ah! Thank you!" The girl didn't know that I had thought of so many questions in such a short time. As soon as she heard me speak Chinese, she hurriedly thanked me in not-so-fluent Mandarin.

  "If you need anything, you can call the service staff with number 9527!" Who is 9527? It's this girl in front of me!

  "Okay, okay!" I started chatting with my sister using my newly acquired English skills!

  After sending away the coquettish waitress, I turned around and locked the door tightly. After putting my luggage into the small cabinet beside the bed, I turned on the TV in the room to alleviate my loneliness. Then, I took off my clothes and walked into the bathroom. I was ready to dedicate this bath after going abroad to South Korea!